Various interior and exterior features for autonomous vehicles

ABSTRACT

Because of the nature of autonomous vehicles, and in particular that they do not require manual inputs from a driver or passenger to control braking and steering, autonomous vehicle can include features that may not necessarily be useful or practical in a typical non-autonomous (or semi-autonomous vehicle) that would require such manual input.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/353,329 filed Jun. 22, 2016, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Autonomous vehicles, such as vehicles that do not require a humandriver, can be used to aid in the transport of passengers or items fromone location to another. Such vehicles may operate in a fully autonomousmode where passengers may provide some initial input, such as a pickupor destination location, and the vehicle maneuvers itself to thatlocation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of an example vehicle in accordance withan exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of an example system in accordance withan exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a pictorial diagram of the system of FIG. 2 in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4D are example external views of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an example internal view of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6A is an example exterior view of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 6B-6C are example exterior views of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7A is an example exterior view of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7B is example exterior views of vehicles in accordance with aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 8A is an example exterior view of a vehicle FIG. 7A is an exampleexterior view of a vehicle in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 8B-8D are examples of a first door configuration in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8E is an example of a second door configuration in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8F is a top-down view of vehicle in accordance with aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8G is an example external view of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an example external top-down view of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is an example of a bench seat for passengers of a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are example views of a modular interior for a vehiclein accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11C is an example of a second modular interior for a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11D depicts a third modular interior for a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are example views of an interior a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are example views of an interior of a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13C is a detail view of a pop-up speaker in accordance with aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 14 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are example external views of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15C is example view of an interior of vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15D is an example external view of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 15E and 15F are example views of a windshield and wiper system inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 18A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 18B and 18C are example views of a seat back display in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 19A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 19B and 19C are example configurations of a hidden air vent inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are an example seating configuration in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 21A and 21B are example views of an interior of a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are example views of an interior of a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 23A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 23B is an example side sectional view of a connector panel in aclosed state in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 23C is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 23D is an example side sectional view of a connector panel in anopen state in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 24 is an example view of a seat in accordance with aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 25 is an example view of a hybrid bench seat in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 26 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 27 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 28 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 29A and 29B are example views of an interior of a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 30 is an example view of a center console in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 31 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 32A and 32B are example external views of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 33A is an example external view of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 33B is a table of example display configurations in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 33C is an example view of a vehicle and client computing device inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 34 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 35 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 36A-36C are example external views of a vehicle in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 37A and 37B are example views of an interior of a vehicle inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

Because of the nature of autonomous vehicles, and in particular thatthey do not require manual inputs from a driver or passenger to controlbraking and steering, autonomous vehicle can include features that maynot necessarily be useful or practical in a typical non-autonomous (orsemi-autonomous vehicle) that would require such manual input. Forinstance, an autonomous vehicle may include a floating sensor box thatutilizes magnets, a drone, or some other flying machine. In addition oralternatively, the vehicle may include a sensor box that “pops up” outof a roof of the vehicle when needed and recedes back into the roof whennot needed. The vehicle may include sensor housings fixed proximate toeach of the four corners of the roof of the vehicle. The vehicle mayalso include notched sides to allow for better ingress and egress for apassenger. In other examples, the vehicle may include a patternedsunroof. The vehicle may include a bench seat with integrated speakersand inductive charging surfaces. The vehicle may include modularinteriors that can be configured to slide into and out of a body of thevehicle 100. The vehicle may also include an a “periscope” feature thatdescends towards the head of a passenger and can provide an immersiveaugmented reality display. The vehicle may also include a tablecomponent that extends away from the dashboard of the vehicle to allowpassengers to work or play while riding in the vehicle. The vehicle mayalso include a “floating” display 1410 positioned in front of thewindshield to provide information and interact with the passengers.

The vehicle may also include a front hatch that incorporates thevehicle's hood (or engine compartment cover), the vehicle's windshield,and at least a portion of the interior dashboard of the vehicle. Thevehicle may also include a space between seats of the first row ofseating of the vehicle that is wide enough to allow a passenger to passbetween the seats and towards a second row of seating. The vehicle mayalso include a dashboard with a charging surface to allow a passenger toeasily charge his or her devices. The vehicle may also include anadjustable display connected to the backside of a seat. The vehicle mayalso include pop-up air vent and/or speakers. The vehicle may alsoinclude a headrest that includes an arm portion configured to house aseatbelt where the arm portions moves with the headrest in order tochange the position of the seatbelt.

The vehicle may also include a flip-up and flip-down display and/or apop-up and pop-down display. The vehicle may also include a rotating aconnector panel for charging or data exchange integrated into thedashboard. The vehicle may include seats with removable cushions toallow for easy replacement of worn, damaged or dirty seat cushions. Thevehicle may also include a hybrid bench seat that includes first andsecond seat backs connected to a single seat cushion which allows forindependent adjustment of the seat backs relative to the base. Thevehicle may also include front and rear modular panoramic displays. Thevehicle may also include a light up indicator that indicates the stateof a door of the vehicle, such as locked or unlocked. The vehicle mayinclude one or more cup holders having a recess and a strap that canaccommodate an infinite number of cup configurations. The vehicle mayalso include a center console may having a receptacle configured toslide from a closed configuration to an open configuration. The vehiclemay also include a center console with an touch-sensitive display. Thevehicle may also include connector panels integrated into the doorpanels of the vehicle. The vehicle may also include one or more externaldisplays that may communicate information about the state of thevehicle. These displays may be integrated into one or more of the doorpanels and/or windows of the vehicle.

The vehicle may also include a conductive fabric on several of thesurfaces of the interior of the vehicle in order to provide for one ormore user inputs in order to control various aspects of the vehicle. Thevehicle may include seats having a movable seat back in order toaccommodate more or larger items when a seat is not being used for apassenger. The vehicle may include headlights that can be rotated intodifferent orientations in order to indicate a status of the vehicle. Thevehicle may also include a display having multiple positions, each ofthe positions being configured for a particular use.

Example Systems

As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 100 in accordance with one aspect of thedisclosure includes various components. While certain aspects of thedisclosure are particularly useful in connection with specific types ofvehicles, the vehicle may be any type of vehicle including, but notlimited to, cars, trucks, motorcycles, busses, recreational vehicles,etc. The vehicle may have one or more computing devices, such ascomputing device 110 containing one or more processors 120, memory 130and other components typically present in general purpose computingdevices.

The memory 130 stores information accessible by the one or moreprocessors 120, including instructions 132 and data 134 that may beexecuted or otherwise used by the processor 120. The memory 130 may beof any type capable of storing information accessible by the processor,including a computing device-readable medium, or other medium thatstores data that may be read with the aid of an electronic device, suchas a hard-drive, memory card, ROM, RAM, DVD or other optical disks, aswell as other write-capable and read-only memories. Systems and methodsmay include different combinations of the foregoing, whereby differentportions of the instructions and data are stored on different types ofmedia.

The instructions 132 may be any set of instructions to be executeddirectly (such as machine code) or indirectly (such as scripts) by theprocessor. For example, the instructions may be stored as computingdevice code on the computing device-readable medium. In that regard, theterms “instructions” and “programs” may be used interchangeably herein.The instructions may be stored in object code format for directprocessing by the processor, or in any other computing device languageincluding scripts or collections of independent source code modules thatare interpreted on demand or compiled in advance. Functions, methods androutines of the instructions are explained in more detail below.

The data 134 may be retrieved, stored or modified by processor 120 inaccordance with the instructions 132. For instance, although the claimedsubject matter is not limited by any particular data structure, the datamay be stored in computing device registers, in a relational database asa table having a plurality of different fields and records, XMLdocuments or flat files. The data may also be formatted in any computingdevice-readable format.

The one or more processor 120 may be any conventional processors, suchas commercially available CPUs. Alternatively, the one or moreprocessors may be a dedicated device such as an ASIC or otherhardware-based processor. Although FIG. 1 functionally illustrates theprocessor, memory, and other elements of computing device 110 as beingwithin the same block, it will be understood by those of ordinary skillin the art that the processor, computing device, or memory may actuallyinclude multiple processors, computing devices, or memories that may ormay not be stored within the same physical housing. For example, memorymay be a hard drive or other storage media located in a housingdifferent from that of computing device 110. Accordingly, references toa processor or computing device will be understood to include referencesto a collection of processors or computing devices or memories that mayor may not operate in parallel.

Computing device 110 may all of the components normally used inconnection with a computing device such as the processor and memorydescribed above as well as a user input 150 (e.g., a mouse, keyboard,touch screen and/or microphone) and various electronic displays (e.g., amonitor having a screen or any other electrical device that is operableto display information). In this example, the vehicle includes aninternal electronic display 152 as well as one or more speakers 154 toprovide information or audio visual experiences. In this regard,internal electronic display 152 may be located within a cabin of vehicle100 and may be used by computing device 110 to provide information topassengers within the vehicle 100.

Computing device 110 may also include one or more wireless networkconnections 154 to facilitate communication with other computingdevices, such as the client computing devices and server computingdevices described in detail below. The wireless network connections mayinclude short range communication protocols such as Bluetooth, Bluetoothlow energy (LE), cellular connections, as well as various configurationsand protocols including the Internet, World Wide Web, intranets, virtualprivate networks, wide area networks, local networks, private networksusing communication protocols proprietary to one or more companies,Ethernet, WiFi and HTTP, and various combinations of the foregoing.

In one example, computing device 110 may be an autonomous drivingcomputing system incorporated into vehicle 100. The autonomous drivingcomputing system may capable of communicating with various components ofthe vehicle. For example, returning to FIG. 1, computing device 110 maybe in communication with various systems of vehicle 100, such asdeceleration system 160, acceleration system 162, steering system 164,signaling system 166, navigation system 168, positioning system 170,detection system 172, and power system 174 (such as an electric motor,gas engine, combination of both, etc.) in order to control the movement,speed, etc. of vehicle 100 in accordance with the instructions 134 ofmemory 130. Again, although these systems are shown as external tocomputing device 110, in actuality, these systems may also beincorporated into computing device 110, again as an autonomous drivingcomputing system for controlling vehicle 100.

As an example, computing device 110 may interact with decelerationsystem 160 and acceleration system 162 in order to control the speed ofthe vehicle. Similarly, steering system 164 may be used by computer 110in order to control the direction of vehicle 100. For example, ifvehicle 100 is configured for use on a road, such as a car or truck, thesteering system may include components to control the angle of wheels toturn the vehicle. Signaling system 166 may be used by computing device110 in order to signal the vehicle's intent to other drivers orvehicles, for example, by lighting turn signals or brake lights whenneeded.

Navigation system 168 may be used by computing device 110 in order todetermine and follow a route to a location. In this regard, thenavigation system 168 and/or data 134 may store detailed mapinformation, e.g., highly detailed maps identifying the shape andelevation of roadways, lane lines, intersections, crosswalks, speedlimits, traffic signals, buildings, signs, real time trafficinformation, vegetation, or other such objects and information.

Positioning system 170 may be used by computing device 110 in order todetermine the vehicle's relative or absolute position on a map or on theearth. For example, the position system 170 may include a GPS receiverto determine the device's latitude, longitude and/or altitude position.Other location systems such as laser-based localization systems,inertial-aided GPS, or camera-based localization may also be used toidentify the location of the vehicle. The location of the vehicle mayinclude an absolute geographical location, such as latitude, longitude,and altitude as well as relative location information, such as locationrelative to other cars immediately around it which can often bedetermined with less noise that absolute geographical location.

The positioning system 170 may also include other devices incommunication with computing device 110, such as an accelerometer,gyroscope or another direction/speed detection device to determine thedirection and speed of the vehicle or changes thereto. By way of exampleonly, an acceleration device may determine its pitch, yaw or roll (orchanges thereto) relative to the direction of gravity or a planeperpendicular thereto. The device may also track increases or decreasesin speed and the direction of such changes. The device's provision oflocation and orientation data as set forth herein may be providedautomatically to the computing device 110, other computing devices andcombinations of the foregoing.

The detection system 172 also includes one or more components fordetecting objects external to the vehicle such as other vehicles,obstacles in the roadway, traffic signals, signs, trees, etc. Forexample, the detection system 170 may include lasers, sonar, radar,cameras and/or any other detection devices that record data which may beprocessed by computing device 110. In the case where the vehicle is asmall passenger vehicle such as a car, the car may include a laser orother sensors mounted on the roof or other convenient location.

The computing device 110 may control the direction and speed of thevehicle by controlling various components. By way of example, computingdevice 110 may navigate the vehicle to a destination location completelyautonomously using data from the detailed map information and navigationsystem 168. Computing device 110 may use the positioning system 170 todetermine the vehicle's location and detection system 172 to detect andrespond to objects when needed to reach the location safely. In order todo so, computing device 110 may cause the vehicle to accelerate (e.g.,by increasing fuel or other energy provided to the engine byacceleration system 162), decelerate (e.g., by decreasing the fuelsupplied to the engine, changing gears, and/or by applying brakes bydeceleration system 160), change direction (e.g., by turning the frontor rear wheels of vehicle 100 by steering system 164), and signal suchchanges (e.g., by lighting turn signals of signaling system 166). Thus,the acceleration system 162 and deceleration system 162 may be a part ofa drivetrain that includes various components between an engine of thevehicle and the wheels of the vehicle. Again, by controlling thesesystems, computing device 110 may also control the drivetrain of thevehicle in order to maneuver the vehicle autonomously. In addition, thecomputing devices 110, by way of processors 120, may control variousaspects of the vehicle in order to achieve the functionality of thevarious features described further below.

Computing device 110 of vehicle 100 may also receive or transferinformation to and from other computing devices. FIGS. 2 and 3 arepictorial and functional diagrams, respectively, of an example system200 that includes a plurality of computing devices 210, 220, 230 and astorage system 250 connected via a network 260. System 200 also includesvehicle 100, and vehicle 100A which may be configured similarly tovehicle 100. Although only a few vehicles and computing devices aredepicted for simplicity, a typical system may include significantlymore.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of computing devices 210, 220, 230 may includeone or more processors, memory, data and instructions. Such processors,memories, data and instructions may be configured similarly to one ormore processors 120, memory 130, data 132, and instructions 134 ofcomputing device 110.

The network 260, and intervening nodes, may include variousconfigurations and protocols including short range communicationprotocols such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, the Internet, World Wide Web,intranets, virtual private networks, wide area networks, local networks,private networks using communication protocols proprietary to one ormore companies, Ethernet, WiFi and HTTP, and various combinations of theforegoing. Such communication may be facilitated by any device capableof transmitting data to and from other computing devices, such as modemsand wireless interfaces.

In one example, one or more computing devices 110 may include a serverhaving a plurality of computing devices, e.g., a load balanced serverfarm, that exchange information with different nodes of a network forthe purpose of receiving, processing and transmitting the data to andfrom other computing devices. For instance, one or more computingdevices 210 may include one or more server computing devices that arecapable of communicating with computing device 110 of vehicle 100 or asimilar computing device of vehicle 100A as well as computing devices220, 230 via the network 260. For example, vehicles 100 and 100A may bea part of a fleet of vehicles that can be dispatched by server computingdevices to various locations. In this regard, the vehicles of the fleetmay periodically send the server computing devices location informationprovided by the vehicle's respective positioning systems and the one ormore server computing devices may track the locations of the vehicles.

In addition, server computing devices 210 may use network 260 totransmit and present information to a user, such as user 222, 232 on adisplay, such as displays 224, 234 of computing devices 220, 230. Inthis regard, computing devices 220, 230 may be considered clientcomputing devices.

As shown in FIG. 3, each client computing device 220, 230, may be apersonal computing device intended for use by a user 222, 232, and haveall of the components normally used in connection with a personalcomputing device including a one or more processors (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU)), memory (e.g., RAM and internal hard drives)storing data and instructions, a display such as displays 224, 234(e.g., a monitor having a screen, a touch-screen, a projector, atelevision, or other device that is operable to display information),and user input devices 226, 236 (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, touch-screenor microphone). The client computing devices may also include a camerafor recording video streams, speakers, a network interface device, andall of the components used for connecting these elements to one another.

In addition, the client computing device 220 may also include components228 for determining the position and orientation of client computingdevices. For example, these components may include a GPS receiver todetermine the device's latitude, longitude and/or altitude as well as anaccelerometer, gyroscope or another direction/speed detection device asdescribed above with regard to positioning system 170 of vehicle 100.

Although the client computing devices 220, 230 may each comprise afull-sized personal computing device, they may alternatively comprisemobile computing devices capable of wirelessly exchanging data with aserver over a network such as the Internet. By way of example only,client computing device 220 may be a mobile phone or a device such as awireless-enabled PDA, a tablet PC, a wearable computing device orsystem, or a netbook that is capable of obtaining information via theInternet or other networks. As an example the user may input informationusing a small keyboard, a keypad, microphone, using visual signals witha camera, or a touch screen.

In some examples, client computing device 230 may be a concierge workstation used by an administrator or customer support representative(concierge) to provide concierge services to users such as user 222. Forexample, a concierge 232 may use the concierge work station 230 tocommunicate via a telephone call or audio connection with users throughtheir respective client computing devices or vehicles 100 or 100A inorder to facilitate the safe operation of vehicles 100 and 100A and thesafety of the users as described in further detail below. Although onlya single concierge work station 230 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, anynumber of such work stations may be included in a typical system.

Storage system 250 may store various types of information as describedin more detail below. This information may be retrieved or otherwiseaccessed by a server computing device, such as one or more servercomputing devices 210, in order to perform some or all of the featuresdescribed herein. For example, the information may include user accountinformation such as credentials (e.g., a user name and password as inthe case of a traditional single-factor authentication as well as othertypes of credentials typically used in multi-factor authentications suchas random identifiers, biometrics, etc.) that can be used to identify auser to the one or more server computing devices. The user accountinformation may also include personal information such as the user'sname, contact information, identifying information of the user's clientcomputing device (or devices if multiple devices are used with the sameuser account), as well as one or more unique signals for the user.

The storage system 250 may also store routing data for generating andevaluating routes between locations. For example, the routinginformation may be used to estimate how long it would take a vehicle ata first location to reach a second location. In this regard, the routinginformation may include map information, not necessarily as particularas the detailed map information described above, but including roads, aswell as information about those road such as direction (one way, twoway, etc.), orientation (North, South, etc.), speed limits, as well astraffic information identifying expected traffic conditions, etc.

As with memory 130, storage system 250 can be of any type ofcomputerized storage capable of storing information accessible by theserver computing devices 210, such as a hard-drive, memory card, ROM,RAM, DVD, CD-ROM, write-capable, and read-only memories. In addition,storage system 250 may include a distributed storage system where datais stored on a plurality of different storage devices which may bephysically located at the same or different geographic locations.Storage system 150 may be connected to the computing devices via thenetwork 260 as shown in FIG. 2 and/or may be directly connected to orincorporated into any of the computing devices 110, 210, 220, 230, etc.

FIGS. 4A-4D are examples of external views of vehicle 100. As can beseen, vehicle 100 includes many features of a typical vehicle such asheadlights 402, windshield 403, taillights/turn signal lights 404, rearwindshield 405, doors 406, side view mirrors 408, tires and wheels 410,and turn signal/parking lights 412. Headlights 402, taillights/turnsignal lights 404, and turn signal/parking lights 412 may be associatedthe signaling system 166. Light bar 407 may also be associated with thesignaling system 166.

Vehicle 100 also includes sensors of the detection system 172. Forexample, housing 414 may include one or more laser devices for having360 degree or narrower fields of view and one or more camera devices.Housings 416 and 418 may include, for example, one or more radar and/orsonar devices. The devices of the detection system may also beincorporated into the typical vehicle components, such as taillights 404and/or side view mirrors 408. Each of these radar, camera, and lasersdevices may be associated with processing components which process datafrom these devices as part of the detection system 172 and providesensor data to the computing device 110.

Because of the nature of autonomous vehicles, or rather that autonomousvehicles do not need constant inputs from a human driver, the interiorof the vehicle need not include fixed steering, brake and accelerationcontrols, but rather, may be configured to promote the comfort andconvenience of the passengers. FIG. 5 is an example internal view ofvehicle through the opening of door 406. In this example, there is of arow of two seats 502 for passengers with a console 504 between them.Directly in ahead of seats 502 is a dashboard configuration 506 having astorage bin area 508 and the internal electronic display 152. As can bereadily seen, the vehicle does not include a steering wheel, gas(acceleration) pedal, or brake (deceleration) pedal which would allowfor a semiautonomous or manual driving mode where a passenger woulddirectly control the steering, acceleration and/or deceleration of thevehicle via the drivetrain. Rather, user input is limited to amicrophone of the user input 150 (not shown), features of the console504, and wireless network connections 156. In this regard, internalelectronic display 152 merely provides information to the passenger andneed not include a touch screen or other interface for user input. Inother embodiments, the internal electronic display 152 may include atouch screen or other user input device for entering information by apassenger such as a destination, etc.

FIG. 6 is an example exterior view of a vehicle 600 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example however, ratherthan a fixed housing 414 arranged on the roof as with vehicle 100,vehicle 600 includes a floating sensor box 610. As with housing 414, thefloating sensor box 610 may include one or more lidar sensors, cameras,radars, sonars, etc. of the perception system 172. The sensor box 610may float, for instance using electromagnet 620, 622 in each of thesensor box 610 and roof 630 of the vehicle. The electromagnets may beconfigured to allow the vehicle's computing devices 110 to adjust thepolarity of the magnets to maintain the position of the sensor box 610relative to the roof 630 while the vehicle 600 is moving as indicated byarrow 640. In addition, the sensor box 610 may include a transmitter andreceiver in order to communicate wirelessly with the vehicle's computingdevices, for instance to send information processed by the sensors andalso receive instructions from the computing devices. In this regard,the electromagnets may be controlled be controlled by the vehicle'scomputing devices which are also maneuvering the vehicle.

Alternatively, rather than using a floating sensor box with magnets, thesensor box may be a flying machine or drone capable of hovering abovethe vehicle as the vehicle maneuvers itself. In this regard, the dronemay be controlled by the vehicle's computing devices which are alsomaneuvering the vehicle.

In addition or alternatively, the vehicle may include a sensor box that“pops up” out of a roof of the vehicle when needed and recedes back intothe roof when not needed. For instance, as shown in FIG. 6B, when thevehicle is parked or the vehicle's power system 174 is charging, thecomputing device may retract a sensor box 650 into the roof panel 660 ofthe vehicle. When needed, for instance to detect the state of objects inthe vehicle's environment, the computing devices 110 may extend thesensor box above the roof panel 660 as shown in FIG. 6C. As with housing414, the sensor box 650 may include one or more lidar sensors, cameras,radars, sonars, etc. of the perception system 172. Thus, by extendingthe sensor box 650, the aforementioned sensors within the sensor box maybe positioned to detect the state of objects in the vehicle'senvironment.

FIG. 7A is an example exterior view of a vehicle 700 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example however, ratherthan a housing 414 arranged approximately at the center of the roof aswith vehicle 100, vehicle 700 includes 4 housings 710-716 fixedproximate to the edges, here the four corners, of the roof 730. Bymoving the sensors to the corners of the roof, this increases the fieldof view of the sensors below the roof. In other words the area below theroof of the vehicle which the sensors of the housing are unable to viewbecause of the angle of the limits of the sensor field relative to theroof line is narrower as can be seen in FIG. 7B. In this example, ⊖1,corresponding to the angle between housing 414 and the side of vehicle100 is greater than ⊖2, corresponding to the angle between one of thehousings 710 of vehicle 700. This also means that the housings 710-716need not be as tall as the housing 414 which can have an impact on theaerodynamics as well as the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle. This typeof configuration is even more useful for wider and/or longer vehicles,where the housing for the sensors would have to be even higher in orderto have an acceptable angle ⊖1.

FIG. 8A is an example external view of a vehicle 800 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example however, the roofand the floor of the vehicle 800 include notches 810 and 812,respectively. These notches allow for better ingress and egress for apassenger and may be arranged to avoid extending into the framestructure of the vehicle (to maintain the structural integrity of thevehicle) and also the battery and electrical configuration of thevehicle. FIGS. 8B-8D are examples of a first door configuration, wheredoor 820 is shaped to complement the notches, and opens by pulling awayfrom the notches 810, 812 and subsequently sliding along the outside ofvehicle 800. FIG. 8E is an example of a second door configuration, wheredoor 830 opens by splitting into two sections, section 832 and 834, andpivoting with respect to the notches 810, 812. FIG. 8F is a top-downview of vehicle 800 depicting the notch 810 as well as a second notch inthe roof of the vehicle 814 that corresponds to an opposing side ofvehicle 800. In this regard, vehicle 800 may have at least two openingsfor ingress and egress. As shown in FIG. 8G, vehicle 800 may alsoinclude features to assist the passenger in entering and exiting thevehicle such as handle bars 840 which, as shown in this example, may beintegral to the side of the vehicle 800 and may appear only when thedoor or doors of the vehicle 800 are open.

FIG. 9 is an example view of a vehicle 900 that may be configuredsimilarly to vehicle 100. In this example however, the roof 910 ofvehicle 900 is configured to include a patterned sun roof. In thisexample, the patterned sunroof may include a plurality of openings 920,here 40 openings in total, in order to allow light into the vehicle. Theopenings may be configured as small open vents or small glass or plasticsheets arranged within a support structure and may each include its ownshade (to reduce sun glare, etc. when needed). This configuration mayallow for various aesthetically pleasing arrangements for a passengerriding within the vehicle. By using many smaller openings as opposed toa single larger opening in the roof, this configuration may be astructural improvement over a typical sun roof and because it does notrequire a huge hole, it may also be more cost effective. Alternatively,the roof may be one larger sheet of glass or plastic with an opaquecover that includes a plurality of openings in order to allow light topass through the openings.

FIG. 10 is an example of a bench seat 1000 for passengers of a vehiclesuch as vehicle 100. In this example, the bench seat 1000 includesintegrated speakers 1010-1014 positioned to be proximate to at least oneof a passenger's ears and back. In addition, the bench seat includes aninductive charging surface 1020 also integrated into the bench seat 100to allow for convenient charging of a passenger's devices. Alternativelyor in addition, the inductive charging surface may include an additionalspeaker.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are example views of a modular interior 1110 for avehicle such as vehicle 100. The modular interior may be configured toslide into and out of a body of vehicle 100 (not shown) and connect withthe computing devices of the vehicle 100. FIG. 11C is an example of asecond modular interior 1120 and FIG. 11D depicts a third modularinterior 1130. These modular configurations allows for easy cleaning andreconfiguration of the interior of the vehicle, without rendering thevehicle completely out of commission for too long. For instance, if acleaning is needed, the modular interior 1110, 1120, or 1130 may beunlocked, slid transversely relative to the vehicle, and removed. Inaddition, a new or different modular interior may be slid transverselyrelative to the vehicle into position and locked in place.

FIG. 12A is an example view of an interior a vehicle 1200 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the vehicle 1200includes a “periscope” feature 1210 that descends towards the head of apassenger, such as passenger 1220. The periscope feature 1210 mayprovide an immersive augmented reality display. As indicated by arrow1230 of FIG. 12B, the passenger may be afforded 360 degree views bysimply rotating the periscope. The display may provide information aboutthe vehicle or what the vehicle's perception system detects around thevehicle or other information such as 360 degree views of landscapes,gaming, or movie experiences as provided by the computing devices 110.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are example views of an interior of a vehicle 1300that may be configured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, atable component 1320 may extend away from the dashboard of the vehicleto allow passengers to work or play, for instance using a display 1310,while riding in the vehicle. The display 1310 may be an electronicdisplay, projection screen, or other type of display. This functionalitymay be controlled manually by a passenger pushing down on the display orautomatically by the computing devices 110 based on whether or not thedisplay is currently needed. The table component may also include one ormore pop-up speakers 1340. As shown in FIG. 13C, the pop-up speaker 1340may be configured to change from an extended state 1342 to a compactedstate 1344 and back again by a passenger pushing down on the speaker1340.

FIG. 14 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 1400 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the vehicleincludes a “floating” display 1410 positioned adjacent to the windshield1430 and/or on the dashboard to provide information and interact withthe passengers. The floating display 1410 may be an electronic display,projection screen, or other type of display. As shown in the exampleview, the floating display provides the passenger 1420 with informationabout what the vehicle's perception system is currently detecting in theenvironment as provided by the computing devices 110 based oninformation from the perception system 172. Such a configuration may beespecially useful when teaching a passenger how to drive a vehicle, butcan also provide augmented reality gaming and other viewing services.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are example views of a vehicle 1500 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the vehicleincludes a front hatch 1510 that includes the vehicle's hood (or enginecompartment cover) 1512, the vehicle's windshield 1514, and at least aportion 1516 of the interior dashboard 1520 of the vehicle. FIG. 15Adepicts the front hatch in the “closed” position, FIG. 15B depicts thefront hatch in the “open” position, and FIG. 15C is a partial interiorview of the vehicle 1500 depicting the interior configuration of thefront hatch 1510. As can be seen, by including the windshield 1512 andalso the portion 1514, the access to the vehicle's engine compartment1530 is significantly greater than with typical hood configurations.

In addition, this configuration also allows for a larger, widerwindshield with greater curvature than with typical vehicle windshields.For instance, FIG. 15D depicts a vehicle 1530 having a front hatch 1540that includes the vehicle's hood (or engine compartment cover) 1542,windshield 1544, and at least a portion of the interior dashboard of thevehicle (not readily visible in FIG. 15D). Again, vehicle 1530 may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. FIG. 15D depicts the front hatch inthe “closed” position. A view of the front hatch in the “open” positionwould appear similar to that depicted in FIG. 15B. As shown in FIG. 15D,the vehicle's windshield 1542 wraps further around the front end of thevehicle than typical vehicle windshields. In order to allow a greaterwidth of the windshield relative to the width of the vehicle, A-pillar1532 of vehicle 1530 has a smaller angle relative to the ground ascompared to A-pillar 409 of vehicle 100 (depicted in FIG. 4B). This alsochanges the shape of the windshield and gives it much greater curvatureor rather, a more arced cross-section in the horizontal direction thanconventional windshield shapes such as windshield of FIG. 403 of FIGS.4A and 4B.

When the shape of the windshield is changed in the aforementioned way,it becomes difficult or even impossible to use conventional pivotingwindshield wipers to clear the windshield of water or debris. In otherwords, the degree of curvature of the windshield may make conventionalpivoting windshield wipers unable to reach a sufficient area of thewindshield which may be a safety or legal requirement in variouslocations. Accordingly, a track based wiper system may be employed.

FIG. 15E is a top down view of a windshield 1550, and FIG. 15F is afront three-quarter view of the windshield 1550. In this example,windshield which may be configured similarly to windshield 1544. Thatis, windshield 1550 may be incorporated into a front hatch, such asfront hatch 1540. Alternatively, windshield 1550 may not be incorporatedinto a front hatch, or rather, may be separate from the hood of thevehicle.

In the example of FIGS. 15E and 15F, track 1552 is located below thewindshield 1544 and extends along the entire length of the windshield tomaximize the area cleared by wiper blade 1554. Although not shown, whenwindshield 1550 is incorporated into a front hatch, the track 1552 mayactually be incorporated into the vehicle's hood as opposed to an areabetween the windshield and the hood as with conventional wiper bladeconfigurations.

Wiper blade 1554 may be connected to connector 1556 which moves alongthe track 1552 from edge 1558 of the windshield in the direction ofarrow 1560 and towards edge 1562. Once edge 1562 is reached, theconnector 1556 reverses direction and moves along the track 1552 in thedirection of arrow 1564 back towards edge 1558. The movement of theconnector 1556 may be controlled by an electric motor or an engine thatrotates a belt (not shown) within the track. The motor or engine may becontrolled by the computing devices 110 according to whether debris orwater is detected in the vehicle's environment, for instance by theperception system or a rain sensor, such as infrared sensors typicallyused on rain sensing windshield. The connector 1556 may be connected tothe belt such that movement of the belt in the direction of arrow 1560within the track moves the connector 1556 away from edge 1558 andtowards edge 1562. Thus, reversal of the motor reverses the movement ofthe belt in a direction of arrow 1564 moves the connected 1556 towardsedge 1558 and away from edge 1562. Alternatively, rather than a belt, arack and pinion gear may be used by the motor or engine to controlmovement of the connector within the track. Although FIGS. 15E and 15Fdepict a single track below the windshield, a second track may also bepositioned above the windshield. In this configuration, an additionalmotor or engine may be used to move a second connector within the secondtrack using the belt or rack and pinion examples above. Alternatively,only one of the connectors at the track below the windshield or thesecond track may be controlled by a motor or engine such that theconnector on the other track is pulled along by movement of the other.

FIG. 16 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 1600 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the configurationof the first or front row of seating, including seats 1610 and 1620provides a space 1630. As shown in the view 1600, the space 1630 is wideenough to allow a passenger 1640 to pass between seats 1610 and 1620 ofthe front row and walk towards (and reach) the second or back row ofseating that includes bench seat 1650.

FIG. 17 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 1700 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the dashboard 1710includes a charging surface 1720 that may be an inductive chargingsurface that allows a passenger to easily charge his or her devices, forinstance, devices 1730 and 1732. In addition, the charging surface 1720may include (and be powered by) one or more solar panels (not shown).

FIG. 18A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 1800 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, a back side 1810of a front bench seat 1820 includes a display 1830 configured to displayinformation to a passenger seated in the rear bench seat 1840. Thedisplay 1830 may be an electronic display, projection screen, or othertype of display. As shown in FIGS. 18B and 18C, the display 1830 isconnected to the front bench seat 1820 via two slots 1812, 1814. Theseslots allow the position of the display 1830 to be adjustable relativeto the front bench seat 1820. For instance, as can be seen in FIG. 18C,the display 1830 can be adjusted up and down as well as tilted betweenpositions 1832 and 1834 and various other positions in between. Thisfunctionality may be controlled manually or automatically by thecomputing devices 110.

FIG. 19A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 1900 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the dashboard 1910includes pop-up air vents 1920, 1922. When not needed for heating orcooling, the vents may be “hidden” by dropping down into the dashboard1910. Similarly, when needed for heating or cooling the vents may“pop-up” or extend up from the dashboard 1910, as shown in the view1900. Alternatively or in addition, the vents 1920, 1922 may be orinclude pop-up speakers. FIGS. 19B and 19C are another exampleconfiguration of a hidden air vent (or speakers) 1930 depicted in anextended configuration in FIG. 19B and a dropped down or hiddenconfiguration in FIG. 19C.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are an example seating configuration 2000 for avehicle that may be configured similarly to vehicle 100. The seatingconfiguration 2000 includes a headrest 2010 connected to an arm portion2020 that is attached to a seat 2030. The arm portion includes aninterior space configured to house a seatbelt 2040 for a passenger. Ascan be seen between FIGS. 20A and 20B, when the headrest 2010 isadjusted to accommodate a passenger, the arm portion 2020 moves with theheadrest thereby changing the position of the seatbelt 2040. This allowsthe seatbelt to move to an appropriate location when a taller person whorequires a higher headrest is in the vehicle, thereby increasing theeffectiveness and comfort of the seatbelt as well as the safety of thevehicle. In this example, the seating configuration 2000 is a benchseat, though the aforementioned concepts may also be utilized withsingle-passenger seats.

FIG. 21A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 2100 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the dashboard 2110includes a flip-up and flip-down display 2120 including a displaysurface 2122 for providing information an/or other media to a passengerof the vehicle. The display 2120 may be an electronic display,projection screen, or other type of display. The display may include apivot joint that allows the display 2120 to pivot away and towards thedashboard 2110 as shown in FIG. 21B. When flipped completely down asshown in FIG. 21B, the display surface 2122 of the electronic displaymay appear integral to the dashboard 2110.

FIG. 22A is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 2200 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the dashboard 2210includes a pop-up and pop-down display 2220 including a display surface2222 for providing information and/or other media to a passenger of thevehicle. The display 2220 may be an electronic display, projectionscreen, or other type of display. The display 2220 may include a pivotjoint that allows the screen 2220 to pivot towards and away from thedashboard 2210 as shown in FIG. 22B. When flipped completely down asshown in FIG. 22B, a back side 2224 (as opposed to the display surface2222) of the electronic display may appear integral to the dashboard2210.

FIGS. 23A and 23C are example views of an interior of a vehicle 2300that may be configured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, thedashboard 2310 includes a connector panel 2320 including a plurality ofconnectors 2330, such as audio jacks, USB, and/or other types ofconnectors, for connecting various devices or wires, for instance forcharging or data exchange. FIG. 23B is a side sectional view of theconnector panel in a closed state as shown in FIG. 23A, and FIG. 23D isa side sectional view of the connector panel in an open state as shownin FIG. 23C. The connectors are arranged within a rotating housing 2340that rotates as indicated by arrow 2350 in order to change theconfiguration from the open to the closed state and back again.

FIG. 24 is an example view of a seat 2400 that may be used in a vehiclesuch as vehicle 100. In this example, the seat includes a seat back 2410for supporting the back of a passenger and a seat cushion 2420 forsupporting a lower portion of the passenger. The seat back and seatcushion are each configured with a removable cushion 2130 and 2132,respectively. These removable cushions may be attached and secured tothe seat back and seat base for instance using four snaps or magnets.The snaps and removable cushions allow for easy replacement of worn,damaged or dirty seat cushions.

FIG. 25 is an example view of a hybrid bench seat 2500 that may be usedin a vehicle such as vehicle 100. In this example, the hybrid bench seat2500 includes first and second seat backs 2510, 2520 for supporting thebacks of two different passengers. Each of these seat backs areconnected to a single seat cushion 2530. The seat cushion 2530 isconfigured as a bench seat so as to support the lower portions of bothof the two different passengers. However, because of the hybrid natureof the hybrid bench seat 2500, the seat backs 2510 and 2520 can each beindependently adjusted (pivoted) relative to the single seat cushion2530.

FIG. 26 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 2600 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the vehicle 2600includes front and rear panoramic displays 2610, 2620. Each of thepanoramic display is a modular display in that it is actually formedfrom two smaller displays 2612, 2614, 2622, 2624. These smaller displaysmay be electronic displays, projection screens, or other type ofdisplays. For instance, panoramic display 2610 is comprised of displays2612 and 2614, while panoramic display 2610 is comprised of displays2622 and 2624. In this regard, panoramic display 2610 may present aunified image to one or more passengers sitting in front row of seating2630 or individual images on display 2612 and 2614 to each of thepassengers sitting in the front row. Thus, the passengers in the frontrow can view the same image in a panoramic view, the same image on eachof the displays 2612 and 2614, or different images on displays 2612 and2614. Similarly, panoramic display 2610 may present a unified image toone or more passengers sitting in second row of seating 2640 orindividual images on display 2622 and 2624 to each of the passengerssitting in the second row. Thus, the passengers in the front row canview the same image in a panoramic view, the same image on each of thedisplays 2622 and 2624, or different images on 2612 and 2624.

FIG. 27 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 2700 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the interior doorpanel 2710 of a door of vehicle 2700 includes a light up indicator 2720.The light up indicator may indicate the state of the door, such aslocked or unlocked, for instance using one or more lighted icons, text,etc. The light up indicator may simply indicate the state of the door,but in some instances, may also be a touch sensitive input, such as apressure sensitive surface or hidden switch, that allows the passengerto change the state of the door from locked to unlocked and back.However, using an indicator without allowing the passenger to actuallychange the state of the door increases the safety of the vehicle whilealso giving the passenger a sense of security and understanding aboutthe state of the door. For instance, the passenger may want to knowwhether the door is locked or not when in the vehicle when the vehicleis in a quiet or dark area, stopped, waiting for someone to join thepassenger, etc.

FIG. 28 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 2800 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the dashboard 2810may include one or more cup holders 2820. Each of cup holders 2820includes a recess 2822 and a strap 2824. The strap may be comprised ofan elastic or stretchable material that can stretch around a beveragecontainer, such as a water bottle or soda can 2830, but is also strongenough to secure the cup within the recess. This allows for aninexpensive cup holder configuration that can accommodate an infinitenumber of cup configurations.

FIGS. 29A and 29B are example views of an interior of a vehicle 2900that may be configured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, thevehicle includes a center console 2910 that may be arranged between twoseats (not shown) in a row of seating of the vehicle 2900. The centerconsole may include a receptacle 2920 integrated into a lower portion ofthe center console configured to slide from a closed configuration asshown in FIG. 29A to an open configuration as shown in FIG. 29B. Thereceptacle may be used for storage or as a trash container.

FIG. 30 is an example view of a center console 3000 for a vehicle suchas vehicle 100. The center console 3000 may be arranged between twoseats (not shown) in a row of seating of the vehicle and may include adisplay 3010 for providing information and/or media to a passenger ofthe vehicle as provided by the computing devices 110. The display 3010may be an electronic display, projection screen, or other type ofdisplay. In some examples, the display may be a touch-sensitive displaythat allows the passenger to make selections and provide user input tothe vehicle to via the touch-sensitive display.

FIG. 31 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 3100 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, the door panels3110, 3120 each include a connector panel 3130, 3140. The connectorpanels may include a plurality of connectors 3132, 3142, such as audiojacks, USB, and/or other types of connectors, for connecting variousdevices or wires, for instance for charging or data exchange. Because ofthe positioning of these connectors within the door panel, a passengeris less likely to forget or leave behind a device that was connected tothe vehicle via the connector panel.

FIGS. 32A and 32B are example external views of a vehicle 3200 that maybe configured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, vehicle 3200includes a display 3210 integrated into one or more of the door panelsand/or windows of the vehicle. The display 3210 may be an electronicdisplay, projection screen, or other type of display. The display 3210may be used to communicate information about the vehicle (i.e. modelnumber or name) or the state of the vehicle (as discussed further below)to an object, such as person 3220, external to the vehicle by displayinginformation provided by the computing devices 110. In this example, thedisplay may actually wrap around a portion of the vehicle as shown inFIG. 32A and cover multiple vehicle panels including a plurality ofadjacent panels as shown in the example of display 3210 which wraparound the sides and rear end of the vehicle and the example of display3310 a and 3310 b of FIGS. 33A and 33B on adjacent door panels of thevehicle.

The person 3320 may be detected in the vehicle's environment usinginformation received by the computing devices 110 from the perceptionsystem 172. If the vehicle is otherwise unoccupied or not fully occupied(seats are available as discussed below), the person may be identifiedas a potential passenger to use the vehicle. Alternatively, the person3320 may be identified as a potential passenger based on informationprovided to the computing devices 110 (directly or indirectly) from aclient computing device, such as client computing devices 120, of theperson indicating that the vehicle has been assigned to the person andinformation (such as GPS coordinates or a BLUETOOTH®, near fieldcommunication, or other wireless connection between the computingdevices 110 and the client computing device) that the person is in thevicinity of the vehicle.

The examples of FIGS. 32A and 32B demonstrate how the display 3210 canbe used to guide person 3220, identified as a potential passenger,around the vehicle and towards door 3230 by moving an image 3240 (ordisplaying an animation) across the display (and across one or morepanels of the vehicle) and towards the door 3230. In addition oralternatively, the display may be used to provide advertising or otherinformation to objects external to the vehicle as provided by thecomputing devices 110. The door and/or display may also include one ormore user input surfaces, such as a light, heat or touch-sensitive inputsurface that can allow the person 3220 to open the door. For instance,the person 3220 may swipe a hand along input surface in order to openthe door 3230. The input surface may provide a signal to the computingdevices 110 to indicate that the input surface has been contacted. Inresponse, the computing devices 110 may open the door (an in some casesalso unlock the door prior to opening). This may thus eliminate the needfor external door handles for opening the door.

FIG. 33A is an example view of an exterior of a vehicle 3300 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, vehicle includes adisplay 3310 a and 3310 b (collectively 3310) integrated into one ormore of the door panels and/or windows of the vehicle. The display maybe an electronic display, projection screen, or other type of display.The display 3310 may be used to communicate information to an object,such as a person (not shown), external to the vehicle by displayinginformation provided by the computing devices 110. In this example, thedisplay may be confined to the doors 3330, 3332 of the vehicle. Again,the door and/or display may also include one or more user inputsurfaces, such as a light, heat or touch-sensitive input surface thatcan allow the person to open the door. The input surface may provide asignal to the computing devices 110 to indicate that the input surfacehas been contacted. In response, the computing devices 110 may open thedoor (an in some cases also unlock the door prior to opening). Forinstance, the person may swipe a hand along input surface in order toopen the door 3330 or 3332. This may thus eliminate the need forexternal door handles for opening the door.

FIG. 33A depicts the display 3310 as a solid light bar, however thedisplay may change according to the state of the vehicle or use of thedisplay. In this regard, FIG. 33B is an example table 3340 depictingvarious example display configurations according to the status of thevehicle. For instance, when the vehicle is driving itself or otherwisein use, the display 3310 may be displayed as the solid light bar asshown in Row A of the table.

As shown in Row B of the table, when the vehicle is arriving at alocation, such as a pickup location or a destination location, thedisplay may display an image indicating whether and how many of thevehicle's seats are occupied and/or available for passengers. As anexample, data 134 may store information regarding the number of seats inthe vehicle. In some instances, the number of seats may be changed, forinstance by adding, removing or stowing seats. Accordingly, thecomputing devices 110 may track a value corresponding to the number ofseats in the vehicle. When the seats are occupied, feedback from seatsensors, such as force sensitive strips, switches, internal video orcameras, which can detect whether a person is currently occupying theseats, may be used by the computing devices 110 to determine the totalnumber of occupied and/or available seats within the vehicle. Thisinformation may then be displayed on the display 3310 in order to allowpotential passengers to determine the number of available seats withinthe vehicle. For instance, the display may indicate that there are 2available seats by depicting 2 dully lit circles to represent occupiedseats and 3 brightly lit circles to represent available seats. Ofcourse, the reverse may also be true: the display may indicate thatthere are 3 available seats by depicting 2 dully lit circles torepresent available seats and 3 brightly lit circles to representoccupied seats. This information may then be updated by computingdevices 110 as the occupation or availability and/or number of seatswithin the vehicle changes.

As shown in Row C of the table, when the vehicle has arrived at alocation, such as a pickup location or a destination location, thedisplay 3310 may display an image welcoming a passenger and/or providingidentifying information (such as numerical identifier 37) to identifythe vehicle to the passenger. FIG. 33C provides another example of thisidentification, where the display 3310 is lit up in a particular colorthat corresponds to a color displayed at a display 3350 at a passenger'sclient computing device 3360 (which may correspond to client device 220,for instance). Thus, for the example of Row C in FIG. 33B, thepassenger's client computing device may display the number “37” toindicate to the passenger the vehicle for which the passenger should belooking.

Again, referring to FIG. 33B, as shown in Row D of the table, when thevehicle idling, parked, for instance waiting for a passenger, orotherwise not in active operation or not in use, the display may displayan image indicating to the passenger how to open the vehicle's door.

FIG. 34 is an example view of an interior of a vehicle 3400 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, several of thesurfaces of the interior of the vehicle, for instance the dashboard 3410and door trim 3420 may be covered in a conductive fabric. The conductivefabric may be used to allow one or more user inputs in order to controlvarious aspects of the vehicle, such as the locking and unlocking ofdoors, raising and lowering of windows, media controls (volume, channel,color, etc.), etc. The fabric may also include icons printed on thefabric in order to indicate to the passenger the location of the inputsfor controlling the various aspects.

FIG. 35 is an example interior view of a vehicle 3500 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, one or both of theseats 3510, 3520 of the front row of vehicle 3500 may include a movableseat back 3512, 3522. As can be seen, seat back 3512 is in a folded downposition allowing a passenger to store items, such as items 3530, on theseat back 3512 when the seat 3510 is otherwise not needed for apassenger. Seat back supports 3514, 3524 may provide additional supportand security for such items. Seat back 3522 is in the upright position,allowing the seat 3520 to be used for passenger seating. As can be seen,when in a seat back is in the folded position, this provides additionalsurface area for storing items than then the seat back is in the uprightposition. Thus, by folding the seat backs 3512, 3522 into the foldeddown position, the seats 3510, 3520 can be used for more safe andefficient storage of items, and by moving the seat backs into theupright position, the seats 3510, 3520 can be used for passengerseating.

FIGS. 36A-36C are example external views of a vehicle 3600 that may beconfigured similarly to vehicle 100. The headlights 3610, 3612 ofvehicle 3600 may be rotatable or may simply include a rotatable coverthat can be used to change the appearance of the headlights. Here, eachof the headlights 3610 and 3612 (or the covers) includes a stripedsection 3614, 3616 which may not be illuminated (or may not beilluminated with the same brightness as other portions of the headlights3610, 3612), and which can be used to indicate an orientation of theheadlights. In this regard, the headlights (or covers) may be rotated,for instance using a belt drive or electric motor, into differentorientations in order to indicate a status of the vehicle. For instance,each of the orientations of FIG. 36A-36C may indicate a different statusof the vehicle: FIG. 36A may represent a typical orientation whichindicates that the vehicle is moving autonomously, FIG. 36B mayrepresent orientation which indicates that the vehicle is currentlycharging, and FIG. 36C may represent an orientation which indicates thatthe vehicle is currently “sleeping”, idling, parked, for instancewaiting for a passenger, or otherwise not in active operation or not inuse. Of course, the current status of the vehicle may be determined bythe computing devices 110, for instance, based upon how the computingdevices are currently operating the vehicle and or feedback from varioussystems of the vehicle. Depending upon the status of the vehicle, thecomputing devices 110 may thus change the orientation of the headlights(or headlight covers) into different orientations in order to expressthe current state of the vehicle. In such examples, the headlightsand/or covers may be selected such that changing the orientation of theheadlights or headlight covers does not reduce or degrade thefunctionality of the headlights to unacceptable levels for safe andlawful operation. In this regard, as well as being rotated, theheadlights may also be tilted or otherwise manipulated in order tomaintain sufficient lighting of the vehicle's surroundings for safety.Of course various other configurations and statuses may also berepresented by these and other orientations of the headlights.

FIGS. 37A and 37B are example views of an interior of a vehicle 3700that may be configured similarly to vehicle 100. In this example, thedashboard 3710 includes a display 3720 including a display surface 3722for providing information and/or other media to a passenger of thevehicle. The display 3720 may be an electronic display, projectionscreen, or other type of display. The display may be attached to alifting device or motor located below the dashboard 3710 that can movethe display up and down relative to the dashboard. The display 3720 mayhave multiple display positions each with a different display purpose.For instance, when positioned as shown in FIG. 37A, the display 3720 maybe configured for multi-media use, for instance for gaming, watchingvideos, etc. When positioned as shown in FIG. 37B, the display may beconfigured for informational use, such as providing information aboutthe status of the vehicle (as opposed to the multi-media use). In thisregard, when being used for informational purposes, the amount of thewindshield view that is blocked by the display is minimized as opposedto when being used for multi-media purposes, the amount of thewindshield view that is blocked by the display can be significantlylarger.

Unless otherwise stated, the foregoing alternative examples are notmutually exclusive, but may be implemented in various combinations toachieve unique advantages. As these and other variations andcombinations of the features discussed above can be utilized withoutdeparting from the subject matter defined by the claims, the foregoingdescription of the embodiments should be taken by way of illustrationrather than by way of limitation of the subject matter defined by theclaims. In addition, the provision of the examples described herein, aswell as clauses phrased as “such as,” “including” and the like, shouldnot be interpreted as limiting the subject matter of the claims to thespecific examples; rather, the examples are intended to illustrate onlyone of many possible embodiments. Further, the same reference numbers indifferent drawings can identify the same or similar elements.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: a first displayarranged at a first door of a vehicle, the first display beingconfigured to provide information to a person in an external environmentof the vehicle; a second display that is arranged on the vehicle butthat is not arranged at the first door of the vehicle, the seconddisplay being configured to provide information to the person in theexternal environment; and one or more processors configured to: identifya potential passenger in the environment of the vehicle from sensorinformation captured in the external environment; and use both the firstdisplay and the second display to display an animation to the potentialpassenger in order to guide the potential passenger towards the firstdoor so that the potential passenger is able to locate the first doorand gain entry to the vehicle, wherein the animation is displayed firston one of the first display and the second display and subsequently onthe other one of the first display and the second display.
 2. Thevehicle of claim 1, wherein at least the first display or the seconddisplay includes a touch sensitive input and the first door does notinclude a door handle, and wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to: receive, from the touch sensitive input,information indicating that an area of at least the first display or thesecond display has been contacted; and in response to the receivedinformation, unlocking the first door.
 3. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the animation is displayed first on the second display andsubsequently on the first display.
 4. The vehicle of claim 1, whereinthe first display is adjacent to the second display.
 5. The vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:determine a number of seats within the vehicle; determine a number ofoccupied seats within the vehicle; and display, on one or both of thefirst display and the second display, information identifying a numberof available seats within the vehicle based on the number of seats andthe number of occupied seats.
 6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the oneor more processors are further configured to: determine an updatednumber of occupied seats within the vehicle based on a change in anumber of passengers within the vehicle; and display, on one or both ofthe first display and the second display, updated informationidentifying an updated number of available seats within the vehiclebased on the number of seats and the updated number of occupied seats.7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to display the information identifying the number ofavailable seats as the vehicle approaches a pickup or drop off locationfor one or more passengers.
 8. The vehicle of claim 5, whereindisplaying the information identifying the number of available seatsincludes displaying a representative object for each seat of the numberof seats and highlighting one or more of the representative objectsaccording to the number of occupied seats.
 9. The vehicle of claim 8,wherein the one or more processors are further configured to display theinformation identifying the number of occupied seats.
 10. The vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured todisplay, on one or both of the first display and the second display,instructions for opening the first door.
 11. The vehicle of claim 1,wherein the second display is arranged at a second door of the vehicle.12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the second door of the vehicle isadjacent to the first door.
 13. The vehicle of claim 1, furthercomprising a pop up sensor box configured to extend above and retractinto a roof panel of the vehicle, the pop up sensor box housing one ormore sensors configured to provide the sensor information.
 14. A methodof operating a vehicle, comprising: identifying, by one or moreprocessors, a person in an external environment of the vehicle fromsensor information captured in the external environment; identifying, bythe one or more processors, the person as a potential passenger of thevehicle; determining, by the one or more processors, a first door of thevehicle through which the potential passenger will be permitted to enterthe vehicle; guiding the potential passenger around the vehicle to thefirst door using an animation, wherein the animation is displayed usingboth a first display arranged at the first door of the vehicle, and asecond display that is arranged on the vehicle but that is not arrangedat the first door of the vehicle.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinthe animation is displayed first on the second display and subsequentlyon the first display.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the animationinvolves moving an image from the second display to the first display.17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving, by the one ormore processors, information indicating that an area of at least thefirst display or the second display has been contacted; and in responseto the received information, unlocking the first door.
 18. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising: determining, by the one or moreprocessors, a number of seats within the vehicle; determining, by theone or more processors, a number of occupied seats within the vehicle;and displaying, on one or both of the first display and the seconddisplay, information identifying a number of available seats within thevehicle based on the number of seats and the number of occupied seats.19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining, by the oneor more processors, an updated number of occupied seats within thevehicle based on a change in a number of passengers within the vehicle;and displaying, on one or both of the first display and the seconddisplay, updated information identifying an updated number of availableseats within the vehicle based on the number of seats and the updatednumber of occupied seats.